Registering device for labeling machines



Nov. 19, 1940.

E. E. ESSEN REGISTERING DEVICE FOR LABELING MACHINES Filed May 5, 1940 lllllllll E716 ET Essen Patented Nov. 19, 1940 I PATENT [OFFICE REGISTERING DEVICE FOR LABELING MACHINES Eric E. Essen, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Eco; nomic Machinery Company, Worcester, ,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 3, 1940, Serial No. 333,167

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to a spotting or registering device for labeling machines by which a label may be affixed to a bottle or other article in predetermined relation to a projection on the article.

In the copending Essen application, Serial No. 247,250, is described a mechanism for the accurate spotting of bottles in which the rotation of a bottle is stopped by a brake directly engaging the bottle, the brake being released for engagement with the bottle when a projection on the bottle engages a control mechanism. This spotting device is entirely satisfactory at practically all speeds; however, when the spotting must be done at a very rapid rate it has been found that when the bottle requires only a short angular rotation into the proper orienting position, that the bottle, before being stopped, not rotating at full speed and thus the overrun of the projection beyond the control mechanism is not the same as if the bottle were rotating at the full speed. The principal object of the present invention is to overcome this objection and to make sure that the brake can function only after the bottle is rotating substantially at the maximum rate determined by the drive mechanism, so that the over-run for each bottle will be the same and all of the bottles will be stopped successively in the same angular position.

According to the present invention the spotting device has incorporated therein a delay mechanism which prevents the projection on the bottle from actuating the control mechanism to cause the brake to operate until the bottle or other article to be labeled has had an opportunity to be rotating at the proper rate. 'It will be understood that this rotation or spinning of the bottle does not generally involve more than one and one-half complete turns of the bottle before it is stopped, but it does prevent the brake from operating if the projection is such that the bottle would have less than half of a complete turn before releasing the brake.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spotting device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 1, with the brake in operative position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation on a larger scale showing the delay mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram.

the spotting device to orient the article. As

shown, the bottle or other article is supported: on a pair of spaced horizontal rails l between which is positioned a horizontally movable rail 2 which also has a vertical movement to elevate the articles from the rails l and advance them a predetermined distance along the rails. This is a well known type of conveyor structure and need not be described in detail.

' The spotting device is mounted on opposed slides 3 and 4 guided by the base 5, and these slides are moved in timed relation to each other through bell crank levers 6 and l turnable on shafts 8 and 8 and connected respectively through connecting elements Ill and II to the slides 3 and 4. Suitably shaped cams l2 and I3 on a shaft 14 engage with followers l5 and IS on the levers 6 and '1 respectively.

On the slide 3 is mounted a head ll supporting a pair of spaced rolls l8 and I9, which, as shown in Fig. 2, are engageable with the bottle or other article B.

On the'other slide i is mounted a driving roll preferably having a resilient surface 2| en' gageable with the bottle.' The roll 20 .is suit ably driven by a belt 22 through any well known type of friction clutch and pulley.

The brake 23 may be of any suitable type, but is preferably mounted for sliding movement in a direction substantially tangential to the bottle and is urged into bottle engaging position by a coil spring 22. A solenoid 25, which for the purposes of this application, may be considered as rigidly mounted on the slide t, normally holds the brake in inoperative position and the brake is thus released by breaking the circuit through the solenoid. Mounted on the head I! on the slide 3 is the control mechanism which may be of any suitable character, but as shown, includes a pair of vertically spaced rolls 2B and 21 mounted on arms 28 and 29 respectively. These arms are mounted on a single pin 30 and have opposed contacts 3| and 32 normally held in engagement with each other by a spring 33. When a projection b .on the bottle engages the upper roll 26the contacts are movedapart as shown in Fig. 2, thus opening the circuit through the solenoid and allowing the spring 24 to move the brake into operative position.

The above described mechanism is wellknown and is fully described in detail in the copending The pres-.

5 has mounted thereon a bracket 34 on which is v h To thisarm is fastened a suitable mercury switch 36, or

pivoted an upwardly extending arm 35.

other suitable contact making or breaking device. In the arrangement shown .the two contacts in the switch are so positioned that the mercury establishes a connection therebetween when the arm 35 is in the full line position shown and the connection between the two contacts is broken when the arm 35 reaches the dot-dash line,

position.

.;- IACOH spring 31 extending between a pin 38 on I the arm 35 and another pin 39 on the opposite side of the pivotal axis of the arm tends tohold the arm resiliently in either of the positions shown. The rocking movement of the arm 35 is limited by spaced pins 40 and 4|, preferably positioned on the bracket 34.

the slide 3 by bolts 43 and since these bolts extendthrough slots 44 the bar is endwise adjustable on; the slide.- Spaced pins 45 and 46-on the bar are in a position to engage with the arm 35 ancl rock it into either of the positions shown as 1 the slide is reciprocated.

m l mercury switch 36 is in parallel with the switch-made up of the contacts 3| and 32 and thus until the arm has been moved fully into the :dot-dash line position the circuit through the 1 solenoid 25 is maintained and the brake is not 5 released even though the contacts 3| and 32 are separated. The 'pins 45 and 46 are so located that as the slide 3 movesinto the position of Fig.

2, the pin 45 will move the arm 35 just slightly 1 beyond mid position, thereby providing a time inl terval between the .moment that the slide 3 reaches the full inward position and the moment that the circuit through the switch 36-is bFr'okenQ short time interval is sufiicient to permit the'b'ottle B to be set in rotation and to- .ha ve reached its normal rate of'speed. Thus if the projection b on the bottle is only spaced from the roller 26 by an angle of approximately 120'for less, the circuit through switch 36 will not have been opened until the projection will have been moved past the roller 21 and thus the bottle is rotated in this event more than acompl'ete'revolution. In this way it is possible to make I sure that the bottles successively oriented are all rotating at the same predetermined speed before the brake becomes efiective and thus the overrunwhich inevitably occurs from the time that the'fprojection onthe bottle engagesthe roller 27, until the brake becomes effective will be constant and may be compensated for in the adjustment of the apparatus so that the projection may be in predetermined relation to the subsequently applied label. I

It is desirable in the operation of the spotting attachment that the cams l2 and I3 be so designedw that the slide 4, carrying the drive roll is advanced beyond the operative position of Fig. 2 and 'is then returned to this position as the slide} moves forward to bring the rolls into engagement with the bottle. Thus there is an opportunity for thedriving roll to start a spin- .ning of the bottlebefore the slide 3 reaches its A bar 42 isheld to 1 operative position, thereby further assuring that each successively spun bottle will be turning at v the same rate of speed when the brake becomes effective. Even in this mode of operation, however, the delay switch makes certain the proper spinning of the bottle and thereby provides more accurate spotting than has previously been possible'f 1' "I'claim:*- 4

1. In a machine for orienting articles, each of which has a projection thereon, the combination with means .for rotating an article on its axis, means for supporting the article during its position, a member engageable by the projection 'for movemntfinto'and out of article engaging position, a member engageable by the projection as the article rotates, stopping means for the article, means responsive to movement of the member by the projection for causing the stopping means to operate to stop the articles rotation, of means engageable by the slide for holding the stopping means in inoperative position for a pre determinedtime afterthe article begins its rotation independently of "the movement of the member by the projection on the article.

2. In a machine for orienting articles, each of whichhas a projection thereon, the combination with means for procuring rotation of the article .on its axis, a stopping member; engageable with the article,- and; means for moving the stopping member into engagementwith the article when the latter is in a predetermined angular position, of means for holding the stopping member in inoperative position fora predetermined time interval after the article begins its rotation, the operation of said lastrneans being independent of the'angular positionof thearticle.

3. In a;machine for orienting articles, each of hich has a projection thereon, the combination with means for rotating the article on its axis, means for stopping the articles rotation, a member engageable by the projection as the article rotates, and means for procuringoperation of the stopping means upon; movement of the member by the projection on the article, of means for retaining the stoppingv means in inoperative position for a predetermined time interval after the article begins its rotation independently of the movement of the member.

4. In a machine for orienting articles, each of which has a projectionthereon, the combination with means for rotating an article on its axis, a member engageable by the projection as the article rotates, stopping means for the article, and

means responsive to the movement of the member by the projection jforgcausing the stopping means to operate, of a time delay mechanism for holding the stopping means in inoperative position for a predetermined time after the article begins its rotations v 5. In a machine for orienting articles, each of whichhas a projection thereon, the combination with means for rotating an article on its axis, a member engageable by the projection as the articlerotates, stopping means for the article, and electrically controlled means responsive to movement of the member by the projection for causingv the stopping means to become operative, of other electrically controlled means for retaining the stopping means in inoperative position for a for procuring rotation thereof, supporting means also engageable with the bottle for supporting the latter during its rotation, a slide on which one of said means is mounted for movement of said means into and out of operative position, a member located in predetermined relation to the supporting means for engagement with the projection on the bottle, stopping means to bring the bottle to rest, means operative upon movement of the member by the projection for rendering the stopping means operative, and means associated with the slide for retaining the stopping means in inoperative position for a predetermined time interval after the slide has moved toplace the means thereon in operative position.

'7. In a device for locating a bottle having a projection thereon in a predetermined angular position, driving means engageable with the bottle for procuring rotation thereof, supporting means also engageable with the bottle for supporting the latter during its rotation, a slide on which one of said means is mounted for movement of said means into and out of operative position, a member located in predetermined relation to the supporting means for engagement with the projection on the bottle, stopping means to bring the bottle to rest, electrically controlled means operative upon movement of the member by the projection for rendering the stopping means operative, of other electrically controlled means engageable by the slide for retaining the stopping means in inoperative position for a predetermined time interval subsequent to the movement of the means on the slide into operative position.

ERIC E. ESSEN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,222,50L November 119, 191m,

ERIC E. 'ESSEN.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, secondcolumn, line 11;., claim 1, for the Words "position, a member engageable by the projection" read -rotation, a slide supporting one of said means; and that the said Letters Patent should be readwith this correction therein that the same may conform to the 'record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 51st day of December, A. D. 19LLO.

Henry Van Arsdale,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

